Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1279973

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CENTRAL POLICE COURT.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9.

Before the Police Magistrate.

DRUNKENESS. - John Mathew, Charles   Saxby, Walter Kinbar, Thomas Few, Mary Ann Roberts, and W. J. Toby were fined 10s. each for drunkenness; and Catherine O'Brien was sent to gaol for a month. Patrick Dryden did not appear, and his bail was forfeited.  

DISORDERLY CONDUCT.-John Kearney was fined 10s.  

STEALING FROM A SHOP.-William Rennie, charged with stealing a quantity of books from the shop of his employer, Mr. G. Slater, book- seller, Queen-street, was remanded for 48 hours.

MURDER.

Before the Police Magistrate and Mr. Lands- borough.      

Rudolph Monberger and Caspar Schaig were brought up charged with the murder of one   Henry Bode, on or about the 27th August last, at the Logan.

The prisoners being Germans, Mr. Appel was sworn as interpreter.

Sub-inspector Lloyd, of the detective police, said: I apprehended the prisoners on the 28th September at a place fourteen miles beyond Toowoomba, on the Dalby railway line; I ap- prehended them on a warrant; they were together when I saw them; Caspar Schaig, when he saw me coming, threw down the tool he was working with and walked off; Sergeant Buckley, who was with me, followed him and brought him back ; I read the warrant over to them (produced) ; both prisoners said,

"Oh, no" when I stated the nature of the charge; that is all they said; when I searched them, on Monberger I found this leather pouch (produced) ; I found other things which have nothing to do with the case; he also had a purse containing £1 2s. 1d., a belt (which he has on now), and a sheath knife; on Schaig I found this pouch with stains on it, also a watch, and a small key attached to a chain (produced) ; that is all; I then brought them in custody down here.

The evidence was then interpreted to the prisoners, who said they did not want to ask the witness any questions.

Michael Heine, a German farmer on the

Logan, deposed : I remember finding the body of a man in the Logan River on the 5th Sep- tember ; the body was floating on its back, with the arms along the body ; I pulled it to the shore, and it was taken out by my men; on it were a pair of woollen trousers and; shirt, and nothing else. The trousers were of a dark red color with stripes ; next day the police came; I made a box (coffin) in which the body was, placed, and then buried about flve yards from the bush, in Mr. Beetam's ground, with the

clothes on, as found in the river ; I remember

last Tuesday week ; the police and a doctor came to the Logan on that day; the box was taken out of the ground again and opened ; the body was clothed in the same way as it was

when I buried it.        

The prisoners did not cross-examine the witness.              

William Spencer Stone, proprietor of the ferry, and publican, at the Logan, deposed ; I know the prisoners ; I have known them about nine or ten months; they lived on the opposite side of the river, about three miles from my place; they were farmers, and lived together ; I knew a German pedlar named Bode; I had known him about five or six months ; he was in the habit of stopping at my place ; he was I should think about 21 years of age, and 5 feet 9 or 10 inches in height; his hair was brown ; he had a very fine set of white and regularly formed teeth ; I never saw him smoke ; he had neither beard nor whiskers ; I remember

Sunday, the 27th August ; Bode came to my place between 12 and 1 o'clock that day ;

he was alone; he had a pack with him; he took dinner with me ; he told me he came for the purpose of collecting money; he said he should remain at my place all night ; between 3 and 4 o'clock, a German family came up to the ferry with a dray containing their luggage ; Bode assisted them to get their things into the punt ;

he took off his coat and laid it on a log on the

other (south) side of the river ; I do not know whether he had any waistcoat ; after coming back, he said he would go on and return that night or next morning ; he wore a crimean shirt, of dark purple color and striped, and a pair of trousers, either woollen or moleskin, striped ; his hat was a felt one, with small holes in the side ; he wore a pouch round his waist ; it was an old leathern pouch; I never saw Bode again alive ; a body was found in the river on the first week of September ; it was found about a quarter of a mile below the ferry, near Mr. Beetam's grounds ; an inquest was held on the

body next day by the Coroner; I was on the   jury, and saw the body, which was lying on the bank of the river ; there were some boughs placed over it ; the body was very much decom- posed, and I could not distinguish the features ; there were a crimean shirt, flannel shirt under it, and a pair of trousers on the body ; at that time I had not the slightest suspicion that the body was Bode's, and I did not know he was missing ; I examined so much of the body as was exposed ; it was on its back; it was not turned over; the back of the head was not examined, and could not be seen as the body lay ; there was no beard or whiskers on the face ; I could distinguish the color of the hair; I noticed the teeth, which were a fine set ; the verdict of the jury was, " Found drowned ;" after the inquest, the body was buried just as it was found, and where it lay; I remember last Tuesday week,

the 26th September ; on that day I assisted to take up the body; I saw the head removed by Dr. Hobbs, who also cut off portions of the shirt and trousers ; the Crimean shirt and trousers were of the same color as those worn by Bode when I saw him last ; the teeth were like Bode's ; the height corresponded exactly with his ; the hair was of the same color ; I have no doubt that the body was Henry Bode's ; I would not know the pouch again. (The witness was shown two pieces of cloth.) He said : They are the same as those cut off the body ; the piece of the shirt, however, is a little lighter in color, and somewhat older in appearance ; the piece of the trousers is exactly the same. (The witness was shown a hat.) The hat produced is similar to

Bode's.      

The witness was not cross-examined.

Christian Berndt said ; I am a farmer, and live at the Logan River; I know the prisoners; I came out in the same ship from Germany ; they have been living together on a place they bought from Mr. Beetam ; their house is about half-a-mile from mine ; my house is nearest to the ferry, and persons going to their place generally pass it ; my house is about two miles from the ferry ; he knew Bode   by sight : I have frequently seen him at the Logan, but did not know his name ; one Sun- day, I think the last in August, he passed my place about 7 o'clock in the evening; I spoke to him; I did not take notice of his clothes or hat ; he said he was going to Rudolph's ; he was a young man ; I think he had no beard ; I never saw him again ; I believe he was the man called Bode ; when he left, he went in the direction of Rudolph's ; I had often before seen him going

there.  

The prisoners did not question the witness.

Mary Halliday, wife of Thomas Halliday, farmer at the Logan, deposed: I know the pri- soners ; they live near my husband's place - perhaps a quarter of a mile from it; Mr. Beetam's place lies between our house and the prisoners' ; I knew the pedlar named Henry Bode ; I remember the last Sunday in August ; I was at home that evening ; he came to our place about 8 o'clock that evening ; he said he had lost his way, and wanted to go to Rudolph's; my husband directed him to his place ; I have never seen him since that night; I did not notice his dress ; it was dark at the time, and he did not come into the hut.

Thomas Halliday, husband of the last witness, deposed : I know the prisoners ; to the best of my belief I was at home on the last Sunday in August; a man came to our place in the even- ing, about 8 o'clock ; he said he had lost his way, and wished to be shown to Rudolph's, in the scrub ; my wife was present at the time ; he told me he was a pedlar; I had hot seen him before ; I went about 150 yards with him, to put him on the way ; the path I showed him passed Mr. Beetam's, and led to the prisoners ; I had some conversation with him ; he said he was going to get money ; I never saw him after that

day ; I understood he was going to Rudolph's,

to get money.

Charles Hoemen said: -I am a laborer, living at Eagle Farm ; I know Henry Bode, who came out with me in the La Rochelle, about thirteen months ago. After our arrival, we wore work- ing at the same place for six months, and after that he became a pedlar ; I have seen him once or twice every week since he became a hawker ; the last time I saw him was at Eagle Farm, on the Monday after the races ; the first day was the 14th August ; he said he was going down to the Logan to collect some debts ; he said there were about £9 owing to him; I have not seen him since; he had on the pair of trousers which he had been wearing for the last six months ; they were tweed, with little red spots in them and a stripe down the leg ; they were too short for him, and very tight above the boot ; he wore a crimean shirt, of a reddish color, and with stripes far apart ; the trousers were worn out in front at the foot ; he had a small felt hat, which he bought at the same time he got the trousers ; the ventilator at the top came out, and left a hole in it ; he wore a belt and an old leather pouch, which I found ; I kept it

about two months, and afterwards gave it to him ; he had it four or five months ; it was scratched while lying on the table, either by cockroaches or mice; he always carried it after I gave it to him; he had a portemonnaie, which he brought out with him, and always carried ; I once had it four or five days in my own pocket ; I would know it again ; it was torn inside ; I saw it in his possession

before he left, but I can't say how long before ; I recollect hearing, in September last, that a body had been found in the Logan River, and made inquiries of the police ; I went with Mr. Lloyd and a constable to the Logan on the 24th September, to see if any information could be obtained about Bode, who was missing; I don't   know the prisoners ; I went to a hut which was pointed out to me as being the prisoners' ; the

doors in front and behind were fastened; we lifted one of the doors off its hinges and went inside ; the first thing we found was the porte-

monnaie, which was in a box ; the name " Rudolph Monborger" was on it, and it was locked ; there was also a leather belt in it ; Bode wore a belt like it on the racecourse ; I knew the portemonnaie at once to be his ; we found his hat underneath the bed ; I at once identified it ; I cannot remember seeing any- thing else that I knew; on the 26th I again went to the Logan, and saw a body taken up : it was lying on its back, and dressed; I noticed the trousers, and examined them ; I am quite sure they were those which Bode had on when I saw him last ; the shirt was like that he wore ; I saw pieces cut off the trousers and shirt ; I saw the hair and teeth, and they were like his ;

he had splendid teeth; the height was the same; I have no doubt that the body was Bode's. (The pouch found on Monberger was produced.) That is his pouch - I know it well. (The porte- monnaie and hat were also identified.) Before the hat was found I gave a description of it to the constables. (The belt was produced.) That is like the one he wore on the racecourse. (The pieces of the shirt and trousers were also

identified.)  

By Monberger : Can you swear that those things were Henry Bode's?-I can. The porte-   monnaie and the pouch?-Yes.  

Sub-inspector Lloyd recalled : On the 24th September, accompanied by Constable Hunt and the last witness; I went to a hut at the Logan River ; a hut was pointed out to us by Mr. Beetam as having been occupied by the prisoners ; it is situated in a small paddock of about two acres and a half extent, on the bank of the Logan ; the hut is 93 yards from the river, I measured the distance ; the hut fronts the river, and there is a path leading to the water's edge, where there is a landing- place ; the river is deep there ; the paddock is enclosed by a paling fence, and there is a small wicket gate 25 yards from the back of the hut, and the path through it is the only one leading to the scrub ; the path through the scrub is 216 yards long ; 110 yards further on is Beetam's house ; and thence to Halli- day's is 341 yards ; there are two doors In the hut,-one in front and one behind (model pro- duced,) ; we raised the front door off its hinges ; the back door was fastened on the inside ; the hut is divided into two rooms by a partition ;   the front door opens into the large room ; everything was in perfect order; we searched the bedroom first ; the first thing found was a heavy maul in the left-hand corner, standing against the front wall (produced) ; there are marks of blood and hair on it ; it appears to me to be human hair, of a light brown color ; there were two boxes in the room - one with Monberger's name on it (produced) ; the box was locked, and the key I found in a bag hang- ing on the wall ; in it were the belt and port- monnaie already produced ; there was a leather portmanteau on the bed containing a sack, on which there are stains of blood (produced) ; I also found four pocket-knives - two new buck- horn handled knives, and two old ones ; on searching the straw which formed the bed on the stretcher, I found the hat already pro- duced ; by the side of the bed there were some ashes strewed on the floor, about two feet in diameter ; there   was no fireplace in the room; on a table in the outer room I found the tick produced, and on it there are marks of blood ; I rolled the tick up and handed it to Alexander Beetam,   who returned it to me on the 3rd of this month ; the other things I brought away myself ; after the arrest of the prisoners, on the 3rd instant, I made a further search of their hut in company with the same persons as before ; I examined the upright post nearest the door and saw it was stained with blood in several parts (produced); on the ground at the end of the bed nearest the door I found three axehandles (produced); there are spots of blood on them; I produce the jam of the bed-room door, and there is blood on it also ; I produce an axehandle found in the bed-room, and on it there are marks of blood ; I found two pairs of trousers stained with blood (produced) ; the place where the body was found is by water about five miles higher up the river than the prisoners' hut ; the Logan is a tidal river, and I know that a strong tide runs up ; the key which I found on Schaig fits the lock on the front door of the hut ; after arresting the prisoners I took them to the humpy where they

lived (near Toowoomba), and found the boots produced ; Monberger claimed them ; I tried   them on him and found they were three inches too long ; they are nearly new ; I understood him to say he bought them at a shop in Queen- street, the first on the right hand side coming

from the Logan ; I also produce the hat Mon- berger had on when I arrested him; it is stained   with blood.    

The prisoner, Monberger, said that he bought the boots produced by the witness, at the last

store in South Brisbane.  

Edmund Hunt, mounted constable, accom- panied Mr. Lloyd and Hoemen to the Logan. They went to the hut pointed out as the pri- soner's. (The witness then enumerated the list of articles which were found, and corroborated the evidence of sub-inspector Lloyd in reference to them). He also was present when Dr. Hobbs went out, and saw him remove the head from the body, and cut off some hair from the skull ; Dr. Hobbs also cut off pieces from the trousers and shirt in which the body was dressed; he took possession of them, and brought them to Brisbane. (Produced.) The witness further produced two pieces of paper, on which there were spots of blood ; there was writing on the

pieces of paper, which were discovered stuck

upon the wall.

Alexander Beetam, a farmer on the Logan,   deposed : I know the prisoners ; I have known them about twelve months; Monberger holds a piece of ground of mine ; there is a hut upon it ; it was originally occupied by Monberger and a German named Frederick Voltz, who left about six months ago, and since, then Schaig and Mon- berger have been living in the hut ; they left together about the 18th September last ; I did not speak to them ; they went in the direction of Brisbane, and did not return afterwards to the place ; they never spoke about going away until the Saturday before they went ; I remem- ber the last Sunday in August ; I was at home on that day ; I spoke to Monberger about half-an-hour after dusk ; I expected they would call in the afternoon in returning from the German church, and had a message for them ; I waited for them until sunset, but they did not come ; I then went to their hut, and found the door locked ; about half an hour afterwards they came past my place ; I called out, "Is that you, Rudolph ?" and he replied " It is" ; they did not stop; I asked them if they had some flour to return for some I had lent them, and they said they had none ; they seemed in a hurry, and went on towards their own place ; I don't recollect seeing either of them on the next day ; after this occurrence they always went to the German Station by another road, instead of passing my place ; I spoke to them afterwards, but nothing was said about the miss- ing man; I saw Bode go to their place the Saturday previous to the 27th August ; he had been at their place before; the prisoners lived by themselves ; I believe they are relatives; on the 24th September, I pointed out the hut to Mr. Lloyd and the constable; I was present during the time the search was made. (The witness then proceeded to describe the articles  

found, and the state they were in.) The bed-   tick was given to me, and I tied it up in my house; in the following week I returned it just as I had received it.

Frederick Boltz, ferryman at the Logan River,   in the employ of Mr. Stone, said : I remember the last Sunday in August ; Mrs. Stone was in Brisbane that day, and I went to meet her ; I knew Henry Bode very well, and met him on the road about 11 or 12 o'clock ; I stopped and spoke to him ; he asked me for some money that I owed him, and said he was going to Rudolph Monberger for some money ; I noticed the clothes he had on ; he wore a light colored hat ; two Germans who were passing said one of them had torn his trousers, and Bode took a needle and thread from the inside of his hat,   and lent it to him to mend the tear; I saw Bode put the needle back again in his hat ; I saw a pouch round his body ; I have seen him carry the same one before ; he had on a new pair of boots ; I got home about 5 o'clock, and saw Bode on the other side of the river ; I never spoke to him again; I saw the prisoner three or four days after the body was found in the river and buried ; I took them across the ferry ; there was another German with them ; Mon-

berger had on a new pair of boots and a pouch ; I never saw him with a pouch like it before ; and it resembled Bode's ; I did not examine the pouch, and I cannot swear to it ; they returned, but I never saw them on the Logan again. (The hat produced by Mr. Lloyd was shown the witness.) That is Bode's hat ; I see a needle inside it. (The witness also said the pouch produced was like Bode's.) I went with Mr. Lloyd to Toowoomba, and saw the boots found   in the humpy there ; they looked very like the pair I saw Bode wearing.

Sub-Inspector Lloyd recalled : I found the hat myself, and there was a needle in it at the

time. It has not been touched since.

Dr. Hobbs deposed : I remember the 26th September last ; I went to the Logan on that day to examine a body which had been buried 20 days before ; I found it in a grave near the river ; the lid of the box containing the body was removed ; the body was lying on its back, much decomposed, and was evidently the body                      

of some person who had been for sometime in the water ; the integuments of the face had dis- appeared, and the upper and lower jaws were exposed ; and the integuments had been torn off the fingers and toes ; the body was clothed with a crimean shirt, and a pair of woollen trousers, and a flannel vest ; I cut   out a piece from the breast of the shirt and a piece from the thigh of the trousers (produced) ; I removed some of the hair from the head ; I produce the head ; on examining it I found it had been much fractured, and an opening on the right side of the skull six inches long and four inches deep, through which a portion of the bone had been broken away ; on the left side there were several fractures or fissures corres- ponding with the opening on the right side; I removed the head from the trunk, and handed it over to the police, who brought it to Brisbane ; I noticed the teeth, and found them perfect and regular ; they were a remarkably good set ; the base of the skull is fractured ; the skull is rather

thin, and certainly I should judge it to be that of a young man, both on account of the teeth and general conformation ; the length of the body was about five foot nine inches; a blow from this maul, which weighs about 14 lbs., would crush the head as it now appears ; I be- lieve that one blow from it would produce this injury ; I should think that those injuries could not have happened to the body in the water, after it was dead ; one blow from the maul would produce instant death ; the head must have been lying on a comparatively hard   surface to produce the fissures on the left side ; on examining the maul I find stains of blood upon it and human hair; the stain on the sack is, I believe, the stain of blood, as well as two of those on the tick, or German quilt ; there are other stains on the tick, but I am not sure as regards them ; there are stains on the upright post of the bed, pre- senting the appearance of blood ; there are, I believe, spots of blood on the axe-handle ; on the door jam and small axe there are marks of blood, and a spot of blood on the hat (Mon- berger's) ; I believe them to be spots of blood ; on a pair of moleskin trousers there are blood marks that appear to have been washed out ; on the leg of the black cloth trousers I observe

streaks of blood.  

This concluded the evidence, and the pri- soners, having declined to make any statement, were committed to take their trial at the Cri- minal sittings to be held on Monday, the 20th day of November next.  

The prisoners were then removed.  

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